


Past, Present & Future

by sassenachwaffles



Series: Waffs: DOA Timeline [8]
Category: Outlander (TV), Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Domestic family fluff, F/M, Fraser Family Fluff, frasers on the ridge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 20:20:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13372341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassenachwaffles/pseuds/sassenachwaffles
Summary: Set in Drums of Autumn, shortly after Bree and Lizzie arrive at Fraser’s Ridge, just my take on a little father daughter bonding, with an eavesdropping mother.





	Past, Present & Future

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously I have a lot of feels. This fic has been sitting in my drafts folder for a few weeks. Since I had the cojones to post the other one, I figured I might as well do this one too. I also am a sucker for any Fraser family feels. Especially ones that happen on the ridge.

We had fallen into a somewhat new routine once Bree and Lizzie had joined us on the ridge. It was welcome, having two more sets of hands around to help with the chores. This allowed me more time to get those chores that weren’t always a necessity done, but rather just that never ending to-do list in the back of my head.

Tonight, after I had fed my little clan, I excused myself leaving the dishes to Lizzie and Bree. Ian said he was going to go for a walk with Rollo, where I never knew, but he always came back and in one piece, I was smart enough to not ask.

Jamie met me by the door, grabbing me by the waist and kissing the side of my neck. “Sassenach, where do ye thing yer going?” He asked, kissing the side of my neck again.

“Ah, Jamie.” I grinned, pushing my hips into his. “I was, er, going to go fill up these pots with some water for tomorrow and just start to reorganize some of the shelves in my surgery. We won’t have these long of days for a while soon, and I wanted to take advantage of the remainder of sunlight a bit, especially sine the girls are taking care of the dishes.”

I felt him smile against my neck as he kissed one more kiss to the side of my neck. “Dinna take too long, Sassenach. I wish to hold ye tonight, all night long.” 

I set the pots down on the bench right next to me, and turned to face him. “I promise I will not be more than an hour. Do you think you can wait that long?” I asked as I stood on my tip toes, kissing the side of his cheek and undoing his hands from my waist.

He let out a small Scottish sound and smiled. “If you keep staring at me like that, Sassenach, you willna even make it to your surgery.”

I tapped his hand as he tried to grab my waist again and grabbed the pots.

“Jamie Fraser.” I said as I started to walk away. “I think you can keep your breeches on for a wee bit longer. Patience is a virtue.” 

He leaned against the door frame watching me walk away. “Aye, it is. But then again, Lord knows I’m not worried about my virtue but yours.”

I kept walking, and laughed, as I heard Bree calling for him asking for help with something.

“And I’m worried about your virtue, darling.” I muttered to myself as I made my way down to the surgery.

***

I made a mental note as I wiped my hands on my apron. The shelves were re-arranged, dusted, and the empty bottles had been cleaned out. I had a bit more to do before winter, but I was pleased with the little bit of progress I had made. I grabbed the pots of water, closed the door to my surgery, and made my way back up to the cabin.

I walked inside, to find it eerily quiet. I set the pots on the table, they could wait to be boiled till tomorrow. I turned the corner and found Lizzie asleep on her pallet. Ian and Rollo still hadn’t returned but that was to be expected, but no sign of Jamie or Bree.

The sun had not fully set yet, there was still remnants of orange and purple hues in the sky. I took my apron off and slid my cloak around me. I walked through the cabin and found it to be empty.

I knew they had not gone far, for if they had Jamie would have either left me a note on the table or stopped by the surgery to tell me himself. That being said, I was not all too alarmed. But my curiosity getting the best of me, I decided to take my search outside.

I tightened my cloak around me as I quietly closed the door behind me, as to not wake Lizzie up. I knew they weren’t in the vicinity of my surgery as I had just been there shortly prior. I decided to walk the opposite direction from the cabin then. Just as I was about to turn the corner, I heard their voices. I stood still my tracks, over hearing their conversation.

“And that’s when she decided to go to medical school.” I heard Bree say. I peaked my head around the corner, quietly, and could see the plaid laid out. Jamie sitting leaning against the edge of the cabin. Bree spread out on the other side, a bottle of whiskey between them. “I was five or six, just starting full day time school. I think she did it because she didn’t need to tend to me at all hours of the day anymore. She needed something to keep her busy.”

Jamie quietly laughed at that.

“I remember one night after dinner, Daddy had tucked me in for bed. I was losing teeth then, and had lost one shortly after he had put me to bed. I was so excited, I hopped right out of bed and went to go to meet them in the kitchen. But as I got down the stairs, I heard their voices. I had never heard his voice be so, stern. ‘You’re really going to do this?’ he said. ‘Yes, Frank. I am. Brianna has a right to grow up in a world where she can decide what she wants to do. She wants to go to Harvard Law or Harvard Medical school? Then she can.’ Mama replied, harshly too. I imagine you know what she sounds like when she doesn’t get her way.” Bree stopped for a minute, half smiling at the memory and half at Jamie

I watched as Jamie put his hand on her head. “You shoulda seen your mam when I was about to go off to Culloden with the men from Lallybroch. I wanted to leave her behind, war is no place for a lass, but your mam. Hell hath no fury like Claire Fraser when she doesna get her way.” Bree laughed as she placed her hand over his. I could see her squeeze Jamie’s hand. “Mama always gets her way. She says I get my stubbornness from you, but I would say that I get just as much of it from her as I do you, Da.”

Jamie laughed and Bree scooted a little closer to him, putting her head in his lap. I shifted, leaning against the cabin where the two walls met. Bree had no clue I was listening, and I was unsure if Jamie did or didn’t. Being the hunter he was, I figured he might have sensed my presence, but didn’t make any advancements to acknowledge if he did, so I decided to stay put, not wanting to interrupt their father daughter moment, but eager to see where this particular conversation was going to. Jamie started to play with the ends of her red hair. “Finish yer story, Bree.” He said.

“I had never heard them talk ill to each other. They were never, overly affectionate I could say, but I never heard him.... Talk so down to her.” Bree stopped and looked up to Jamie’s face. “If you don’t want to hear about this... I can stop.” 

Jamie shook his head, and Bree continued. “Daddy laughed at mama’s comment. Mama snickered, and said something along the lines of ‘I know you’d rather keep me locked up to have supper on the table when you get home, Frank. But I have talents I wish to use.’, ‘Don’t make me the bad guy in this, Claire.’ Mama laughed and said, ‘Because you’re never the bad guy, Frank.’” Bree stopped for a moment, and looked up at the stars.

I stood, still leaning against the house, and my eyes filled with tears. While I knew my marriage to Frank in the twenty years I had spent back with him had not been perfect, I thought we did a good job of arguing and being angry with each other in the hours Brianna had long gone to sleep or been away at her friends house. And as I heard her telling Jamie this story, I could vividly recall this particular disagreement with Frank. It broke my heart a little to learn that Bree had heard this fight, the one time in the twenty years there was even the slightest mention of Jamie from Frank.

“I remember, I squeezed the tooth back tightly in my hand and went to run back up the stairs. I was young, but old enough to know I shouldn’t interrupt them, let alone be out of bed at that hour. And when I was quietly making my way back up the stairs, I heard him say, ‘What would he do?’ and mama gasped, ‘What do you mean he?’, ‘Don’t play dumb with me Claire.’, ‘He would have told me to do it and encouraged me every step of the way. Just another way the two of you are vastly different.’ And then I heard mama make her way to the living room, and I ran back into my bed, and went to sleep. It never clicked about the he in their fight was about you. Mama never talked about you, not until our Scotland trip. I think Daddy made her promise to never do it. But they did just that once.”

Jamie continued to play with the long lengths of her hair. “Well, yer mam was correct, I woulda encouraged her. That is for sure.”

“I know you would have.”

Jamie stopped playing with her hair for a moment and took a deep breath.

“Out with it.” Bree said and Jamie let his breath out. “I have a question. Only one, and if ye dinna wish to answer it then ye must just tell me. I dinna ever wish to ask it of yer mam, but I do wish to know, sometimes.”

The final moments of daylight were happening and it was still bright enough I could see the crease in Bree’s forehead in her father’s lap - the one crease that showed up when she rolled her eyes no less.

“Just ask.” Bree smiled.

“Am I anything like, him. Like Frank?” Jamie asked as he then started to play with hair again.

Bree took Jamie’s hand from her hair and sat up, looking at him directly in the eyes. “No.” She said without missing a beat. “You two could not be more different. Mama said, he looked like that man.... Jack Randall. Never seeing a picture of him, I couldn’t tell you if that was true or not. But he was tall, shorter than you a bit, and slender. He was clean cut, had dark brown hair. Slick hair that was always gelled back and usually in a suit of some sort.” Jamie laughed as Bree continued. From where I stood, it almost looked like she was blushing. She leaned her head against his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his, as he placed hand on her knee. “You two could not be more different in appearance. Yet I think your question is more directed in how you both treated mama.”

“Och. Of course ye’d see right through my question. Direct like yer mother. It’s no wonder where ye came from, Bree.” Jamie laughed as he kissed the top of her head.

“I want you to know, he loved me. A day never went by where I didn’t.... Where I didn’t feel like I was unwanted by him. And, he loved mama at one point in his life, in some capacity. But being here now, and seeing mama with you, and how you look at her, how you hold her. How you act like two love struck teenagers whenever you’re by yourselves.....No you’re nothing like him.”

I watched as Jamie pulled her closer to his side. “A leannan,” Jamie said, softly, “I want ye to know. I will forever be thankful to Frank for taking care of ye and Claire, when I thought.....Well, when I thought I wouldna be able to see to it myself. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, sending her back to him. But seeing ye, here and now, I dinna regret a single moment. I may not like the man and all the memories he has of you as a wee bairn, but I can be grateful for him. Ye ken?”

Bree laughed and smiled with a nod, wrapping the plaid laid out in the grass around her skirts. “It’s funny. I often think of what the two of you would say to each other if you were to meet, but I think you would scare him, and I think he wouldn’t say anything to you.”

Jamie laughed as he took the plaid that was under him and wrapped it around half of Brianna. “There are many things I would like to say to Frank Randall, but I would at least have the decency to tell the man thank ye. It’s getting late, and I told yer mam I wanted to hold her, which I do. We best be getting inside.”

Jamie stood up and put a hand out, helping Brianna up. “I like the way you think, Da, I was just getting cold. Let’s go.” Bree said as she started to walk to the cabin.

“I just have to see to one thing out here, then I’ll be inside.” Jamie said. Bree nodded and headed off into the distance. Jamie stood still in his tracks until he knew Bree was out of hearing range. “I ken verra well yer here, Sassench, come out wherever ye are.”

“I should have known you knew I was listening. The house was empty, I missed you and I went looking for you. Then I found you two out here and couldn’t interrupt and I stayed because of that particular story our daughter was telling you.”

“Ah.” Jamie said as he pushed my arms out of my cloak, pulling me to his chest. “I shoulda thought so.”

“I find it funny. Frank made me promise to never talk about the past, and that was the only time he ever brought you up to me. The man could hardly even say your name.”

“Sassenach, dinna fash. The past is the past. You are here with me, and so is the lass. That is all that matters now.”

“You have a way with words, Jamie Fraser.” I said as I smiled into his chest, listening to the sounds of his heart. 

“I also have a way with other things, ye ken well enough. Or I should hope after all these years. Come to bed with me, and I shall show you, aye?” Jamie said as he kissed my forehead and pulled me into the cabin. 

I laughed and more than happily obliged, following closely behind him, keeping our fingers intertwined. It too crossed my mind, what I would say to Frank, if I ever got the chance, and found myself too, wishing to tell him thank you. But as Jamie pulled me into the cabin, shutting the door and pinning me to it, lingering over me and then giving me a soft and slow, but deep kiss, erasing all my thoughts, as I was brought back to my present, my future, and my forever.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I surely hope you did enjoy and thank you for taking the time to read my fic.


End file.
